As art takes to the streets in the city in a festival with a distinctly environmental theme, arguably the most eye-catching exhibit is the one in Calle Puerta de Murcia, the main pedestrian street in the old centre of Cartagena. “Va llena de plástico”, by the coordinator of the Mucho Más Mayo festival, Belén Orta, consists of a sculptural representation of the whale, partly eviscerated to show the contents of its digestive tract and to impress upon members of the public the seriousness of the pollution of the world’s oceans and seas.

The artist reports that she has received numerous complaints that this presents an unnecessarily cruel and unpleasant image to members of the public, particularly children, but she is adamant that such comments are unwarranted. The whole idea, she adds, is to make people ask questions and think about the topic, and if the reality of the situation is unpleasant then it is important to drive the message home.

The whale which appeared in Cabo de Palos on 27th February was, of course, far from being an isolated victim. The combination of plastic, cloth, fishing nets and other manmade debris which were recovered from its stomach, along with ropes and a large canister, provide a graphic example of how litter and waste discarded by human beings can represent a threat to even the largest of animal species in the sea. The young whale, accustomed to a diet of squid, was unable to either digest or expel the waste he had inadvertently consumed, and died of starvation due to inability to ingest more food.

But it is not only large animals like whales and dolphins which are affected: turtles, molluscs and of course fish are also dying in large numbers due to swallowing items such as bottle tops or micro-plastics, and it is estimated that another 250 to 300 kilos of plastic accumulates in the sea EVERY SECOND.

Belén Orta, it may be remembered, was also responsible for one of the most controversial of the exhibits at last year’s Mucho Más Mayo festival: a giant octopus which she planned to drape on the replica of Isaac Peral’s historic submarine. This intention, inspired by Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was thwarted by the then Mayor José López, and instead the octopus went on display on the Muralla de Carlos III, one of the old defensive walls around the city.